Corner Brook -
Chalet owner Phil Cleary is encouraged by his initial assessment of the new possessors of Humber Valley Resort.
Friday, it was revealed that a consortium of local companies purchased the assets which have remained dormant since the December 2008 bankruptcy.
Cleary, who returned to his home province in 2003 to live at the resort, sees the announcement as a positive one.
"I am very, very excited about it," he said. "This is positive. This dark cloud is finally gone."
Noton Enterprises Limited, 61839 Newfoundland and Labrador Limited (a numbered company), and Oke Consultants Limited are the identified members of the partnership, which intends to operate and manage the resort under a new corporate entity - Humber Valley Resort Corporation (2010).
At a press announcement at the resort Friday, Katie Watton said she is the public relations director, Gary Oke is the managing director of operations, and her husband Graham Watton is the general counsel.
It was said there are other partners involved, but nobody else was identified, and Watton said he was only involved in looking after all corporate and legal affairs.
"Our goal is to get the resort and golf course back into operation and further develop and promote the resort as a four-season destination and an upscale residential community," Katie said.
To do so, she said, they will be focusing on making what already exists work properly. While not abandoning the resort concept, they will be seeking a balance of permanent and seasonal residents to avoid down periods.
The assets available at the resort, which filed for bankruptcy in December 2008, include the golf course, clubhouse, administrative buildings, the bridge crossing the Humber River, roads and underground infrastructure. Neither Graham or Oke would comment on the specifics of the dollar amount of investment they made and Katie didn't refer to it in her statement.
"That's our personal business," Oke said. "It's been on the market for 18 months and we negotiated what we thought was a reasonable deal, and the receiver was obviously happy too."
When Oke took over management of the golf course at the resort last summer, he said he fell in love with it.
"I have dealt with memberships in my businesses all my life, but, up here, it was such a wide variety of people from all over the world," he said. "It just hit me. It honestly did. It's been a roller coaster ride, because I was involved with a group last fall who tried to buy it and it fell through. This opportunity came along and, again it has been a roller coaster ride for three months, but it's a great day today."
Humber Valley Resort went bankrupt December 2008. While these amenities have been left dormant, most of the chalets, including more than 200 finished and several dozen unfinished ones, are already privately owned. Those owners formed their own association to deal with many of the essential services themselves.
The new resort owners said they will be meeting with the chalet homeowners association shortly to work out and arrange a smooth transition and takeover of the operation, management and provisions of all essential services.
There are also a number of rental and management companies involved. The new owners said they will be meeting with all interested parties with respect to various property maintenance and rental management scenarios.
Katie said their goal is to get the Eagle's Perch Clubhouse up and running and available for use as well as the dining room, the bar, and the golf shop. The purchase of assets also include all the intellectual property, copyright, and trademarks of Humber Valley Resort.
The local ownership group will not be standing pat on the assets presently in place. They are considering adding a four-star hotel at the resort.
Not what he expected
For Cleary, after 14 years in the Caribbean and 20-plus years previously in Toronto, Cleary didn't envision the management troubles he would encounter when he settled into his retirement home on the shores of the Humber River.
He said it hasn't been too difficult for him to adjust to the loss of services because he owns one of the first houses inside the bridge. However, it hasn't been what he expected.
"Overall, it has been difficult for a lot of people," he said. "We also had a small group of negative people, for whatever reason. I just hope all the homeowners get on track, get behind the new owners, and let's make it work."
Cleary, who is a member of the homeowners association, says it is essential the new owners concentrate on upgrading the roads and perform some overall maintenance on the community that has been neglected for well over a year. Most importantly, it is time to get back to redevelopment.
He was also encouraged by the suggestion that the resort would encourage local people to use such things as the golf course, clubhouse, and restaurants.
"It only can work if it has the support of locals," he said. "Yes, we have a lot of foreigners who come and spend a week or two here - and God bless them, they are great and fantastic people, and they spend their money, which is good for the economy. But they go.
"The locals have to keep supporting this and, from what I have heard, that is another one of the plans."
